Gold
by Fury Seven Kerrigan
Summary: Legends haunt Merlin's nights and Arthur's days and only myths can tell them what to do about it.
1. Chapter 1

**Gold**

**Chapter One**

* * *

"_Merlin," _a woman's soft voice flowed through his mind. _"Merlin". _

Merlin woke up as the sun started to shine a brilliant orange-gold in the east casting morning rays through his window. He smiled, savouring the moment of rest that came with waking up before he had to.

He could hear Gauis in the next room already up and preparing breakfast so he flung back his covers and swung his legs out of bed, ready for the day ahead. He changed his nightshirt for his normal blue shirt and pulled his tatty brown jacket on as he opened his door, almost tripping down the steps while he pulled his red scarf out of the jacket pocket.

"Morning Gauis!" Merlin said cheerily, fixing his scarf around his neck and smiling at his mentor.

"Good morning Merlin!" Gauis smiled back at him, relishing the feeling of a glorious day combined with that of his ward having clearly slept well, which was all-too-often a rarity. "Breakfast is ready."

They sat down together to eat and it was over too quickly before Merlin had to get up to get the King's breakfast. Just before he walked out of the door though, Gauis called him back.

"Yes?" Merlin replied to his mentor's call.

"Once you're finished with Arthur today, I could do with some herbs collected for me." He rifled through his work table for a moment before he found the items he'd been looking for. He picked up a few little glass vials and peered at their labels through his magnifying glass. "Comfrey, deadnettle, hedge mustard, and... hops..." he tailed off as he pondered a couple of the other vials on his table. Then he shook his head minutely. "No, actually, forget the hops- I will make sure I get some from the farmers in the harvest. But if you could get those others for me please Merlin, I would appreciate it" he said, looking back up at the young man standing in the doorway.

Merlin smiled. "No problem," he said as he ducked out of the door.

He yawned his way down into the kitchens and found a tray and filled it with hot porridge oats, apples, bread, and a little cheese. Despite having just had his own breakfast, the smell of freshly baked bread made Merlin's mouth water. Hilda, the cook, caught him looking at the bread oven and she playfully cuffed him over the ear, smiling fondly at the young man.

"'Ere," she said, grabbing one of the smaller loaves and pushing it into his pocket while he carried the laden tray. "'Ave one yourself- you could do with some feedin' up,"

Merlin gave her his best smile, "thank you!" he said exuberantly.

Hilda gave him one last friendly look before she returned to her bread ovens to check that her legendary baked goods weren't overdone.

In the corridor, Merlin took the opportunity while no one was there to lay the tray down by a stone statue and eat the bread in his pocket while it was still warm. He rolled his eyes at the first bite in bliss. He loved it when Hilda wasn't too busy- she always thought that he was too skinny and would find a little something extra for him to eat.

It wasn't too long though before he was back upstairs from the kitchens, laden down with the hot goods and fruit for Arthur.

He balanced the tray on his arm and opened the door with his other hand.

The room was dark so he put the tray down on the table and pulled the privacy curtain between the bed and the rest of the room aside and then drew the curtains over the window apart letting the now-blazing sunshine into the room.

He turned to the bed and tried to stifle a laugh as he saw the famous King of all Camelot sleeping with his mouth wide open, drooling obliviously on his sheets. He ultimately failed to stifle that laugh though and the noise that came from him made Arthur stir and wake.

As soon as Arthur's eyes fluttered open he was assaulted with a far too happy voice ringing too close to him. "Morning Sire!"

"Merlin!" Arthur replied, almost cheerily. "Sleep well?"

Merlin was somewhat taken aback, smiling slightly in disbelief at the question.

"Well actually Sire-" he began.

"I wasn't expecting an answer Merlin," Arthur interrupted, raising an eyebrow at his manservant as he struggled to sit up.

Merlin huffed but was in too good a mood to let it affect him. "And did you sleep well?" he asked, trying to illicit some guilt in the King.

"Yes, although no thanks to your tidying- if I find a cleaning rag in my bed again, I might have to reinstate the stocks as a punishment for you."

Merlin stopped, trying to think of an excuse to defend himself with but he couldn't think of anything before Arthur spoke up again.

"Doesn't matter Merlin, so long as my breakfast is up to scratch."

Merlin was glad when Arthur finally let him go back to his duties as his breakfast clearly _was_ up to par. He didn't feel up to having extra chores to do- he'd not slept amazingly well. He couldn't quite remember why, just had the ghost of a feeling that someone had called out to him... _Not unlike how Kilgarrah used to do_, Merlin realised. But then he dismissed it, though not without a slight uneasy feeling, like he'd forgotten something. The Great Dragon's calls in his mind had always been so clear and had woken him up on several occasions. What last night's dreams felt like were just that- dreams.

He shrugged his shoulders and left the castle to find the herbs that Gauis had mentioned he'd needed.

Sometime later in the day, Arthur stood in the throne room in full kingly regalia, his hand resting on the back of his throne and facing the room. Sir Leon was standing in front of him with a group of other knights, and the counsellors and court advisors were in the room as well. Sir Leon was giving a report.

"So what have the other kingdoms said about this?" Arthur asked him.

Leon looked straight as his King. "Sire, they have doubled the patrols around their borders, but they warn that the realm of Camelot is the direction in which they are travelling towards."

There was a low rumble of agreement from the other knights in the room. The advisors looked around at them and each other wondering what the King would say.

Arthur looked down with a small frown on his brow, clearly thinking deeply.

He looked up at his chief knight, face a little clearer. "We will do the same, Sir Leon. Step up the patrols on the borders, but keep it subtle- if there is no trouble, then we don't want to alarm the people." He looked around his throne room and addressed all of his knights. "Be on your guard," he told them. They all bowed towards their King and left the room. The counsellors left also, leaving the room empty and Arthur to his thoughts. He took the few steps to his throne and he sat in it heavily, slouching, his elbow leaning against the arm of the chair, and his head leaning on his fist. He only had his thoughts to himself for a minute though as the double doors opened and Gwen walked in in her favourite red gown and the smaller diadem crown of hers.

He looked up at her and smiled a tired-looking smile, his arm flopping down into his lap. Then he got up to meet her, holding his hands out towards her to take her hands in his, which she gave him willingly.

"What is the matter Arthur?" she asked him, a small crease of worry on her forehead and her eyes searching his.

He squeezed her hands and sighed. "Bandits, it seems. We have had word from more than one kingdom around Camelot telling us of a large number of thieves looting tombs." Gwen's face mirrored Arthur's in her disgust at that knowledge. "Apparently their thirst for riches is quite insatiable," he finished.

"What are you going to do?" Gwen asked him.

Arthur turned her towards the door, tucking her left arm through his and led her to the door for them both to leave. "For now, I've told them the step up the patrols and to keep an eye out. The people of Camelot are hard-working honest people, and even in death, no one deserves to have that happen to them." His mind wandered for a moment to both of his parents, both in their graves. "People deserve their rest once their day is done."

Gwen caught his mood and patted his arm while leading him to the bright and lovely day outside to walk through the castle outdoors and to lighten his thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

**Gold**

**Chapter Two**

"_Merlin," _a woman's soft voice flowed through his mind. _"Merlin". _

Merlin sat bolt upright in bed and looked around fearfully.

There was no one there, and nothing was out of the ordinary. He frowned and he brought both hands up to his ears to stick his fingers in them to clean them out. He listened again.

Nothing.

Not even Arthur yelling at him that he was late.

Nothing at all in the blackness of the night.

The hoot of an owl was loud enough to make it's way through Merlin's shuttered window all the way from the forest outside of the castle. If he really strained to listen, Merlin could just about hear Gauis snoring from the other room. Gauis didn't always snore, but he was particularly tired that day after dealing with a baby with measles.

There really wasn't anything else for Merlin to hear, but unlike a week ago, when he thought the voice had started to call out to him, he was definitely aware of it now and it bothered him. He was sure that someone was calling out for help, a woman.

He sighed and fell back to his pillow and was fast asleep again within seconds.

He woke up again as the sun was rising, but he hadn't slept well again. He hadn't had a proper night's sleep since these dreams had started a week ago. But after he'd gone back to sleep again last night, not only could he hear her voice, but he was sure that he could almost see the ghostly grey outline of the woman, long, flowing hair fanning out around her, her long and flowing dress doing the same, as if she were underwater. And like being underwater, she was just an outline- a dim image in his mind that was fast disappearing.

He groggily sat up, swinging his legs around to rest his elbows on his knees and massage the back of his neck with his hands.

With a deep breath, he got up and rubbed his eyes hard until he saw stars in his vision and got dressed.

He was up before Gauis this time and so he sliced them each some bread and a little cheese, halving an apple to share between them.

He ate his and left the rest for Gauis for when he woke up, and then went to find something for Arthur.

Merlin kept his head down while he walked to he kitchen's and back up again to Arthur's chambers. He didn't see anyone as the other servants seemed to be just as busy that early in the morning preparing the castle for the nobles. He was deep in thought and he was frustrated. He felt like he really ought to be doing _something_- anything, really- just to help this woman. He was sure she was desperate for help.

He opened the door and left the breakfast tray on Arthur's table as per usual. Gwen was just leaving the chamber as he walked in. She smiled.

"Good morning Merlin," she said as she finished adjusting her hair. "Arthur's already awake."

Merlin smiled back at her, his frown instantly melting away as his dear friend spoke to him. "You had that honour then?" he laughed.

Gwen laughed back, more so when they both heard Arthur's put-out voice wafting out from behind the privacy curtain.

"I heard that!" he said, voice slightly raised.

"Have a good day," Gwen said, squeezing Merlin's arm as she walked past him.

"You too my lady," he said.

"Merlin," she chided him as she got to the door. "It's Gwen, you know that!"

And she left, smiling.

The exchange had made Merlin forget his thoughts entirely.

He got out Arthur's clothes for him and took them around to the bed.

"Morning Sire!" he said, injecting as much cheer as he could, as usual. It made his day to see Arthur's face in the morning when he was overly cheerful, and their banter was good for both of them.

Arthur got out of bed and allowed Merlin to help him dress. "Yes," he sniffed. "It will be. We're going on patrol. Nothing like some fresh air," he said.

From his position adjusting Arthur's belt, Merlin looked up at Arthur, raising an eyebrow slightly. "By 'we', I assume you mean I'm coming too?"

Arthur smirked at him. "Of course- I need you to carry everything!"

Merlin finished and stood up, his shoulders slouching in defeat.

"Of course you do," he said, sighing.

An hour or so later, Arthur, Merlin, Sir Gwaine, and Sir Leon were on horseback making their way towards the borders of Camelot by the road through the forests. Merlin could tell that while Arthur was generally in a good mood, the current situation with the grave-robbing was bothering him intently.

The most recent reports had seemed to point towards the grave-robbers looking for something in particular. Sometimes they took things from a tomb if there was anything worth taking, but quite often, they just left everything alone. What had at least caused some relief for everyone hearing these reports was that the dead themselves were usually left alone. They clearly weren't bothered with the people, just the riches.

"There is something else, Sire," Leon said, as he finished telling Arthur the most recent report about the bandits. "There seems to be a certain type of tomb that these men are going for, and that's any tomb either within ancient castle ruins, or within caves and rock. If there is a tomb under the earth, then it is ignored." Leon patted the mane of his horse, Hafaleil, to alleviate his discomfort. He didn't want to show any weakness, especially in front of his King, but the very idea of the dead not being able to rest bothered him greatly. There was a silence for a moment and Leon stole a look at his comrades. Even Merlin and Gwaine were silent, so Leon took that as a sign that they were all disgusted by the knowledge contained within the report. He felt marginally better, but he continued to pat Hafaleil.

"Well then," Arthur finally said, nudging the reins of Sigral, "we should send out patrols to all the ruins and rock tombs in the realm and warn our allies in the neighbouring kingdoms to do the same, if that is indeed what they're aiming for."

"We're coming up to the village of C'aer Gog, Arthur," Gwaine finally spoke up to say. He rode up to be next to Arthur and pointed through the approaching treeline towards the clearing ahead where many a thatched roof was to be seen. "Maybe we can finally get a drink!" he said, trying to lighten the mood by just being himself.

Arthur grinned, resisting the urge to cuff his own knight playfully around the head. He checked around the make sure that the unusually quiet Merlin was still with them, and seeing him trying not to nod off on his horse's back in the warmth of the summer's day, Arthur rolled his eyes and yelled back- "MERLIN!"

Merlin jumped a foot, although by some miracle, he didn't fall off Peronell's back. Arthur made another exaggerated show of rolling his eyes so that Merlin could see, and he was gratified to see that Merlin at least had the decency to look embarrassed.

"Sorry Sire," he said, the blush searing his cheeks. Gwaine laughed, and even Leon forgot his discomfort to genuinely smile for the first time in quite a while.

Only Peronell seemed to take Arthur's outburst and Merlin's jumpiness completely in her stride and without reaction- she was used to these strange, sometimes loud, creatures who looked after her well and whom she served well in return.

As they came to the treeline and looked out over C'aer Gog, they could see that the village was actually quite large and busy, having been granted a charter to have a market. It wasn't market day that day, by the look of it, but it was still important enough to be busy. They made their way towards the tavern, much to Gwaine's delight, the colours of their Camelot cloaks shining brightly in the sunshine against the browns of the buildings. Without question, all the people they rode past bowed, lowering their eyes in deference. At the tavern, which Arthur said was the best place to get information and food as well as drink, he conceded to Gwaine, they got off their horses and handed them to the stable-hand there.

At any other time, Arthur would be wanting to keep a low profile and not show off his royalty. It just wasn't his style, but at this particular time, he wanted information and this, he had to admit, was the best way to get it quickly. The four of them walked into the tavern where the low hum of conversation between the locals and tradesmen and the raucous laughter in the corner immediately stopped and all eyes stared at them.

Arthur held up a hand in mild embarrassment and turned to speak to the giant of a tavern-keeper behind the bar who was polishing a tankard. He faltered when he caught Arthur's eye.

"Sire!" the man said in a heavy accent. He straightaway took out four tankards for the King's party and filled them to brimming with ale and placed them in front of Merlin who took them to the table that Gwaine and Leon had occupied, leaving Arthur to talk to the tavern-keeper. "On the 'ouse Sire," the man said.

"Thank you, Sir," Arthur said. "What is your name?"

"John, Sire," he replied.

Arthur nodded. "Well John, my friends and I," he gestured to the others at the table who were watching him while talking, keeping their voices low. The other chatter in the room had started back up again too, but Arthur kept his own voice low as well so as not to cause concern. "Are in need of information. We have been hearing reports of bandits doing unspeakable things to places of rest. We are travelling to find out for ourselves what stories have come your way."

John leaned forwards, conspiratorially, and picked up his rag and tankard to carry on polishing. Arthur leant forward also to better hear what he was about to be told.

"Well Sire," John began, "we 'ave indeed been hearin' the stories of grave misdeeds with nary a thought for common decency." He looked around to make sure he wasn't being overheard and then looked back at his King. "We 'eard a bloke in 'ere the other day- 'e's gone now, mind- tellin' us about these bandits. Seems to be the right ones that you'll be lookin' for. Said that they'd come to 'is village askin' about the castle ruins nearby- turns out, they be lookin' for the old castle of Arosslegne within the realm of Nythfa."

John leant back again, knowing that he'd dealt some very interesting information to the King.

Arthur stayed where he was and he leant his arm against the bar. "Arosslegne? Nythfa?" he asked, looking quizzically at John. "But that's a myth, it doesn't exist."

John smiled at the King knowingly. "Not in these 'ere parts," he said. "Nythfa and Arosslegne come from a legend with roots in the real world. It tells of Queen Alianor, a powerful sorceress and benevolent woman well-loved by her people who was betrayed by another sorcerer and a rogue who were in cahoots with each other."

"I've heard the legend," Arthur said, half wondering how John knew the word 'benevolent', "but a kindly sorceress? Really?" He said it as if he were scoffing at the idea, but it was only half-hearted. His views on magic were definitely friendlier than Uther's views had been. John, wisely, stayed silent. The King was famously a just king, but John didn't want to push his luck, especially as the King had been gracious enough to come into _his_ tavern.

Arthur brought his finger up to his chin, tapping it thoughtfully. "I _have_ heard of the realm of Nythfa though," he said, almost to himself. "Old history lessons." He looked up at John again. "Was there anything else you could tell me?" he asked the man.

John shook his head ruefully, "Sorry Sire, although me wife could probably fill you in a little more- she spoke to the man for a little while longer. 'E seemed right keen on 'er," and to Arthur's surprise, John laughed at that comment. "My Rose- she can make men buy many a pint!" He turned and spoke to someone behind him whom Arthur hadn't even realised was standing there all that time, so small was the woman compared to the enormous man before him. "'Ere, Rose, tell the King more about that man sayin' about Arosslegne," and he gently moved his wife before him. Such a small and pretty woman she was, that Arthur could scarcely believe they were married- she was tiny, although buxom, and had lovely golden wavy tresses and a coy look about her, but a ready smile.

"Good day, Sire," she curtsied behind the bar.

"Good day, Rose," he replied. "What can you tell me?"

"The man said that the thieves were after Arosslegne for the legends- the riches of the Queen Alianor. Legends in these parts say how she kept a great cavern of gold and wealth in reserve, should any plague or drought come upon the land and people were in desperate need. She was a very wise woman you see, Sire." Rose had a quiet voice, but Arthur could hear her easily, even above the rising din of the tavern and the raucous laughter which had started up again. Rose sighed in sympathy for the mythical Queen. "Well Sire, she was betrayed, although legend has it that one day she will wake up to take revenge on those who betrayed her and on anyone who tries to take the wealth of the kingdom of Nythfa."

Arthur leaned back and blinked.

Rose looked at him. "That's all I know, Sire," she said, curtseying again.

"Thank you Rose," he said.

She curtseyed again and left to attend another patron, seeing that Arthur didn't need her anymore.

He turned to finally join his friends at the table and drank his ale, grateful for the cooling drink in the hot weather.

"What did they have to say Arthur?" Merlin asked, having not taken his eyes off him the entire time they'd been separated.

Arthur put his tankard down and leaned in to tell the others of what he'd been told.

"I've heard of this tale," Gwaine said. "It's quite well known in certain parts of the land. Queen Alianor is something of legend, and people sometimes call her the 'Golden Queen', in part because of her riches, and I think sometimes in part because of her golden eyes because she was a sorceress, and also because it was such a golden time in which to live- she really was that wonderful, or so I've heard," he said.

Arthur nodded in agreement. "I've not quite heard of that, but I've definitely heard of the legends of Arosslegne, and the realm of Nythfa is actually mentioned in the court records. It's absolutely ancient- Camelot and Mercia, and so many other realms didn't even exist back when Nythfa was around. Part of Nythfa's lands are now within Camelot's borders."

"Even in Ealdor, we'd heard of the Golden Queen," Merlin piped up. "After a good harvest, there would always be a festival, and in the deep of the night, that's when the stories would start to be told by the village elders who had been told the stories from their elders when they were little, who had heard it from _their_ elders, and so on. Well," he carried on swiftly, "The legend of the Golden Queen was a favourite story and it was always told."

The others were quiet. Arthur liked it when Merlin told tales of his village life back home in Ealdor. It was a simpler life, and it held such a sway over Arthur at times.

Gwaine, for his part, had once visited Ealdor at the time of a harvest festival, and he smiled, looking into the distance for a moment, remembering the time as a very pleasant time.

Leon, who had a thoughtful look on his face spoke up. "It is interesting, is it not, how reverently people mention this Golden Queen, despite her being a sorceress. Yes, there was clearly an evil sorcerer in the story, but the story doesn't try to be moralistic and say what is right, and what is wrong. It just tells a tale."

Arthur and Merlin both kept quiet at that, each for their own reasons.

"So where to now?" Gwaine asked, finishing his ale.

Arthur looked up and then finished his ale as well. "We'll travel to the next market town and then we'll go back to Camelot. I want to speak to Geoffrey and Gauis about Arosslegne, Nythfa, and this Queen Alianor. They know the castle and the land records better than anyone in Camelot. I want to know what it is _they_ know about it."

This was agreed upon by the others at the table. They finished their drinks and left the tavern.

As they left, Arthur leaned over the bar again to speak to John. "Thank you, John, for the information." He looked back at the empty tankards. "And thank you for the drink. Generosity like that is remembered well," he said, and he left with his knights and Merlin, leaving a beaming John behind the bar, still polishing the same tankard.


	3. Chapter 3

**Gold**

**Chapter Three**

Back at Camelot, Arthur was standing in the Library, valiantly trying not to look bored as Gauis and Geoffrey pored over the great tomes that were usually left to collect dust. Merlin was standing just behind Gauis' shoulder pulling the odd face at Arthur who was facing the two scholars. While they were looking down at the books, Arthur didn't want to get caught laughing at his manservant, so he instead kept trying to put Merlin off by giving him threatening looks back.

It wasn't putting him off.

Gauis and Geoffrey seemed to be in a world with just the two of them in, having a whale of a time. Geoffrey had barely seen Arthur in the Library since he'd finished his education, and even before then, Arthur had to be dragged there sometimes forcibly by Uther. So Geoffrey wasn't going to lose the opportunity to bestow some history upon the King. The two older men were talking amongst themselves while Merlin was trying to put Arthur off, and as Arthur tried to stifle yet another yawn, he decided to hurry matters along.

"So," he said loudly, crossing his arms over his chest, "what have you found?"

Gauis looked up suddenly, almost as if he'd forgotten anyone else was there. "Sire!" he said, sounding surprised. Merlin stifled a laugh behind him. Gauis threw him a look over his shoulder, knowing exactly what Merlin had been doing. Merlin, in turn, tried to give Gauis his most innocent look.

"What?" he said.

Gauis shook his head and turned back to Arthur.

"Well, Sire, the legends are intriguing and varied, as legends are wont to be."

Arthur tried to prevent the impatience that he was starting to feel from showing in his demeanour. "Yes, but what do they _say_?"

"Sire," Geoffrey said, taking over, "there is a main story, which I shall try and condense for you."

"Please do," Arthur said flatly.

"Eons ago," Geoffrey started, and Arthur immediately scowled, making Merlin laugh a little at his master's response, "an evil sorcerer and a rogue villain with many powerful connections, made a pact together to attack a sorceress of great wealth and power who was the leader of her people. The rogue wanted her wealth and the sorcerer wanted her power. She held a great power, you see, over health and the magic of life," he added. "She was the Queen of a great kingdom called Nythfa, and she held court in the city of Arosslegne, although there are many spellings of this which are fascinating in their toponymy and etymology..." he tailed off, taking a deep breath. Arthur, fearful that this deep breath might lead to an analysis and far too much information, butted in before it could happen.

"What of the Queen?" he asked, "And how do people know her name, when so far, all you've told me is that she was a female leader and sorceress."

It was Gauis who answered that part. "The name of Alianor is one that has been passed down through the ages. It is entirely likely that that was never her name at all, but there is another legend of a High Priestess of the Old Religion with that name, so it's possible that it's the same person." He paused. "Or the legends have fused together."

Arthur sighed deeply.

"That is the way of the most ancient legends, Sire," Gauis admitted.

Geoffrey cleared his throat to carry on with his side of the story. "The legend goes on to say that the Queen refused to co-operate with the two evil men and so they imprisoned her, but when she _still_ refused to give them what they wanted and reveal the resting place of the kingdom's great treasure, they did a most powerful and evil deed to her. The sorcerer was powerful enough to separate her body from her mind. They buried the body, technically still alive, in a catacomb for dead kings but it was surrounded by spells and charms to stop people from going near it. The tunnels were deep underground in burial chambers and they were sealed up and, in time, forgotten." That made Arthur's mouth curl in disgust at such a deed, mythical or not. Being buried alive was his idea of torture. Merlin had stopped making faces at Arthur to listen to the story and he was being unnaturally quiet. His face mirrored Arthur's in disgust. "The legend goes on," Geoffrey said, "to say that the Queen's mind was meant to be able to roam, able to touch the mind of the sorcerer in case she ever changed her mind, but she never did and all the people involved died and the story became legend." He finished, quite pleased with himself that he'd actually managed to capture the King's attention with, what he considered, was a history lesson.

Gauis closed the book before him and unconsciously waved away some of the dust that spiralled into his face. "Sire, the legends of the incredible wealth that comes with some of the tales of the Golden Queen have always attracted people- both with good and bad intentions."

"Yes," Arthur agreed, "but this time, these people are desecrating the burial grounds of the ancestors of the people- my people. It is causing concern and upset, not to mention that thievery is against the law," he added. "I don't mind adventure seekers finding out legends, but this band of men are too ruthless in their quest." With trepidation, he looked back at Geoffrey. "Is there any reference at all that says where they might be heading to? Anywhere that might mention burial chambers of kings or where this Arosslegne might be, if it's even within Camelot's borders?"

"Well Sire," Geoffrey started, "It doesn't say," he admitted. "But there is the obvious location, where the kings of old are buried."

"Where?" Arthur demanded.

Geoffrey looked at Gauis, who answered for him. "The Catacombs of Rosslyn, through the path of the Valley of the Fallen Kings."

"The Catacombs of Rosslyn?" Arthur asked.

"It's an ancient ruin, barely there at all now, or so I've been told," Gauis told him. "It was a great castle surrounded by a rockface and a great mountain on one side, and a river on another side. The Isle of the Blessed is nearby, so that put many people off from going there. It is meant to house the burial grounds of the most ancient kings of the land, although no one has ever found the entrance. I had heard tell from magical users, before the Great Purge, that magic was needed to find it." Gauis coughed. "The Valley of the Fallen Kings was usually enough to put people off from venturing that way."

Arthur nodded, believing it. "Anything else?"

"Nothing that we've found so far, Sire," Gauis said, shaking his head a little. "But we'll keep looking."

Arthur nodded his thanks to the two older men and started to walk out of the room, gesturing to Merlin to join him. Once outside, he took a deep breath of fresh air.

"Musty in there, wasn't it?" Merlin said right in his ear, making Arthur jump a little.

"_Mer_lin," he said, hitting his manservant over the head gently. "The next time you pull a stunt like that again, I'll have you testing out the rotten vegetable provisions- _again_."

"Stunt, Sire?" he said with exaggerated innocence and a smile that belied his tone.

Arthur just huffed and turned away, striding towards the the Armoury to find Leon, and also trying to hide the smile that Merlin caused.

Merlin was tending to Arthur's supper in the King's chamber when Gwen came in to join them.

"Have you had a good day?" she asked them both.

It was Arthur who spoke up. "Yes," he said, smiling at his wife. "Despite Geoffrey's ability to ramble intolerably, I learned a lot. Tomorrow, I'm going to send some patrols to these supposed ruins to see if there are any there for starters. Leon is seeing to it personally." He sighed, looking down at the papers on the desk before him.

Gwen took the quill from his hand, placing it back in it's holder and pulled Arthur to his feet and over to the dining table where Merlin had set out food and wine for them.

"Paperwork tomorrow. Quests tomorrow. For now, let us eat and enjoy the company," she said.

Arthur smiled lovingly at his wife, and allowed all of this to happen, although at her last words he perked up, his eyes alighting on Merlin, still standing in the room. "Enjoy the company?" he said. "Well then Merlin, you'd best make yourself scarce," he said in a teasing tone.

Gwen playfully dug Arthur in the ribs, but laughed.

Merlin looked appalled for a moment, as was required for their banter, but too easily, his smile slipped through and he took the hint to leave the King and Queen to each other for the night, closing the door softly behind him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Gold**

**Chapter Four**

"_MERLIN!" She screamed! _

It was the middle of the night again when Merlin leapt out of bed, the sheets tangling around his legs and he fell to the floor with a thump, the sound of the woman shouting desperately in his head still ringing in his ears. He wasn't mistaken this time.

He must have also shouted in his sleep as Gauis barged into his room a second later, flinging the door open, fearful for his ward.

"Merlin!" he said, taking the two steps to the young man, "are you alright?"

Merlin struggled against the blankets, but managed to extricate himself. "Gauis, I saw a woman- the woman, I'm sure of it- the Queen Alianor!"

He got up and looked at Gauis with a slightly manic look about him which Gauis had seen before and didn't like at all.

"Now hold on a minute Merlin," he said, holding his hands up to try and promote a feeling of calm, "what are you talking about?"

"Queen Alianor," Merlin said again, "I've been hearing her in my dreams for some days now and I'm sure that she's in trouble," he said, trying to get his urgency across to Gauis.

"Merlin," Gauis replied, exasperated, "you're just dreaming of the story we were telling Arthur earlier. Sometimes, things that happen during the day affect our dreams, but they aren't real."

Merlin gave him a withering look. "I _know_ that Gauis," he said, with his own exasperated tone, "but I've been dreaming about her long before you told us of the legends, and it's been years since I was in Ealdor at the harvest festival to hear the stories there." he ran out of the room suddenly, surprising Gauis, who took the opportunity to put the blanket back on the bed and to sit on it. It was the middle of the night after all and he was tired. Merlin came running back in with a piece of parchment which he'd drawn on. "I saw her clearly. I saw what she looked like, and I saw her crown, and more importantly, I saw this mark on her neck. Somehow, I just knew it was the mark of a High Priestess of the Old Religion." He shoved the parchment underneath Gauis' nose, who took it and peered at it. It was a small spiral within a circle with three lines underneath, fanning downwards from the circle.

"You saw this?" Gauis asked, incredulous.

"Yup," Merlin said.

Gauis looked at him for a moment. The look of absolute conviction in the young warlock's eyes was enough to convince him, "This is indeed a mark of one of the orders of the High Priestesses- one of the most ancient, and the one that one of the older legends says that the Queen of Arosslegne was a member of." He looked at the symbol again. Then he looked back at Merlin. "You'd better tell me what you've been dreaming of," he said.

Merlin nodded and sat next to his mentor.

"It started about a week ago with a voice in my head like Kilgarrah used to do, but that was it. At first, I thought it was just a dream as well, but every night, she's been getting louder and more desperate in her voice. Also, I've started to see her, but it was hard at first, like looking at someone through a heavy mist." He stopped to take a breath.

"Go on," Gauis prompted.

"Not only that, but tonight, what made me wake up, was her shouting at me for help- really shouting, and for the first time, I saw her perfectly in all detail. You know," he said, realising, "for someone who is so old, she looks very young. Anyway," he said, shaking his head to clear it, "I also saw an image in my mind of a castle, which peeled away to become a ruin. There was a spring inside the old castle which had provided it with fresh water. In my dream, I found myself following the spring to a perfectly flat and smooth rock face and suddenly, I was inside in a room that shone like the brightness of golden sunshine," he finished.

For a moment, Gauis raised an eyebrow. "You're beginning to sound almost poetical Merlin."

Merlin frowned. "I know, and I'm wondering if they're not my own words- I felt that _she_ told them to me."

Gauis leaned back and then got up, struggling a little with his age. "Well then," he said, looking down at Merlin still sitting on the edge of his bed, "it's just as well that Arthur's decided to find the tomb for himself. He's joining Sir Leon tomorrow after all. You can help him. Now, go to sleep," he said as he left the room to go back to sleep himself, closing the door behind him.

Merlin sat there, wondering about the Queen and whether she would let him sleep. He plumped up his pillow which began to look inviting, so he decided to risk it. He lay back down and pulled his covers up under his chin.

Now that Arthur and Merlin were going to find the tomb, the Queen seemed to know it- somehow- and she let him sleep, speaking soft words to him that he didn't hear but soothed his soul and his body.


	5. Chapter 5

**Gold**

**Chapter Five**

On horseback the next day were Arthur, Merlin, Gwaine, Leon, and Elyan. It was once again a lovely summer's day and the sun shone brightly through the trees of the forest making dappled light on the men and the ground. This time though, Merlin didn't feel like nodding off- he had slept very well, and he had to admit it, he thought that it was because the Queen had allowed him to sleep well. He had woken up rested and happy. He felt more happy than he thought he should really, considering that they were on their way to the Valley of the Fallen Kings and then on to- hopefully- a tomb. And there again, Merlin couldn't quite believe that he was _hoping_ to find a tomb- it was the complete antithesis of who he was- but the Queen seemed happier in his dream, and the fact that it finally felt as if he were helping her helped his mood.

He could hear the others joking around, even Leon smiled and made a little joke. They all went quiet though as the two enormous statues of the ancient kings appeared up ahead. The place looked almost holy with the dappled late afternoon sunlight casting a particularly golden-orange glow over the land, and the five of them kept absolutely silent until they were through the valley.

Gwaine let out an audible sigh of relief and Merlin gave a nervous laugh which Gwaine grinned at him for.

"Merlin, don't be a girl," Arthur said, not even looking around. "It's only a valley, just like any another valley," he said, forcing a brave and arrogant tone into his voice. He knew full well though, that Merlin knew he felt otherwise about the Valley of the Fallen Kings. Sure enough, when he looked around then at his friends, he caught Merlin grinning at him as he also knew exactly how _Arthur_ felt about the valley as well.

"Shut up Merlin," he said unnecessarily.

"Wasn't doing anything Sire," Merlin shot back, overly-innocent in his tone.

"You didn't have to," Arthur shot right back.

"Alright princess," Gwaine laughed, determined to get in on the banter, "don't be so sensitive!" and he winked at Merlin who couldn't help but laugh. Elyan and Leon, being more respectful towards their king and without the easy banter that came to the other men, stayed silent, although they did enjoy the camaraderie.

"We'll carry on until sundown, and then we'll make camp for the night and get to the catacombs tomorrow in daylight.

Sundown wasn't until quite late that night, so they stopped early enough so that Merlin could collect some firewood and they could cook a rabbit that Arthur caught while there was still enough light to see.

After they'd eaten and their sleeping rolls were set up around the fire, Elyan volunteered to keep the first watch. The others lay back on the ground which was still warm from the heat of the day and which made an almost cosy feel to the camp. Had it not been such an important mission that they were on, they'd have felt as if it were a particularly satisfying camping trip.

Arthur lay on his side next to Merlin, but propped himself up on his elbow to try and not fall asleep instantly.

Gwaine was on the other side of Merlin, with Leon next to him, and then Elyan between Leon and Arthur to complete the circle.

"Tell us a story Merlin," Gwaine suddenly piped up. Merlin looked at him.

"What sort of story?" Merlin asked him, blinking lazily as the smoke wafted it's way over to him.

"Tell us about the harvest festivals in Ealdor and what the story about the Golden Queen was," Gwaine said. He'd heard it before, but it had been many years since he was in the outlying villages.

Merlin looked around at the others, but seeing no objection, he looked away into the distance and his eyes glazed over as he remembered his childhood, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips.

He had always loved the story of the good sorceress queen.


	6. Chapter 6

**Gold**

**Chapter Six**

"_Come on Merlin!" Hunith said, holding her hand out towards the little giggling boy who was too excited to stay still. "It's time to hear Old Thomas tell his stories!" she said. _

_Merlin loved his stories, and Hunith knew it well. This had been a particularly good harvest, so there was much celebration to be had. She could hear the singing and the dancing outside in the warm summer night air, she could hear the crackling of the bonfire and she could smell the pig on the spit that had been killed specially for this day. It was her favourite day of the year and always had been. She knew that it was Merlin's favourite day too. _

"_Hurry!" she said to the small boy who was running around in circles around their hut, far too excited for her to keep up with him, but he finally latched on to her hand, his little fingers curling around her long, slim ones. "You make me dizzy Merlin!" she told him, laughing at her son. _

_She led him outside, although in truth, he was almost pulling her. At seven years old, he was already getting strong. He'll be helping out with the harvest properly soon, she thought to herself, following behind the reapers to pick up the ears of wheat. _

_They walked towards the merriment, but he pulled away from her, his hand slipping out of hers easily as he saw Will, and the two boys made their way towards Old Thomas. She walked over to Thea who had similarly been abandoned by her daughters so that they could listen to Old Thomas' stories. _

_Merlin and Will sat as close as they could to Old Thomas, trying to vie for his attention just like all the other village children who were sat around him. _

_Old Thomas smiled, he loved how the children sought him out for not only his stories, but also for the sweet honey that his bees made that his good wife kept. They reminded him of when he was a young man and told stories to his own son, Young Thomas, who was grown up now and had his own family. _

_When he saw that the children were all- mostly- settled, he started his stories, his deep voice made for such a task, age having not diminished it at all. _

"_A long long time ago, before the time of Camelot, there was a beautiful Queen by the name of Alianor of Arosslegne, ruling over the lands of Nythfa. She was a good queen, beloved by all the people in the lands. She was the fairest, kindest queen that ever lived. And she was..." he paused, knowing that the children knew this part. _

"_A SORCERESS!" they all chorused together, giggling and clapping. _

_Old Thomas sat back and laughed, a great guffaw pealing out and mixing with the children's laughter. "Yes!" he said, clapping his hands to his knees. _

"_A sorceress," he continued, the children falling under his spell once again. "But not just any sorceress- Queen Alianor was a _good_ sorceress, and only used her magic to help her people. Kings and wise men would come from far away lands just to hear her wisdom and gain her thoughts on matters of the world. She was also a healer and used her magic to bring strife and pain to a halt, healing the sick and the wounded with barely a glance." _

_What happened to her?" one of the younger children asked timidly. _

_Old Thomas leaned forwards towards the children, and they unconsciously leaned in towards him to hear his words. Merlin was leaning his chin on his hands, his elbows on the knees of his crossed legs, and his mouth hanging open, completely engrossed in the story. Most of the children had an expression quite like his as well. _

"_Well I'll tell you," he said, speaking as if he were confiding in them a great secret. "An evil sorcerer who lived in the mountains watched her realm from far away and he was jealous of her, but so powerful was she, that he could never defeat her all on his own. Until one day, he happened across a rogue- a villain of such deception and cunning that the sorcerer realised that together, they could defeat the Queen. He bewitched the rogue with tales of the Queen's great wealth, for she had the largest vaults of gold that anyone had ever possessed to keep her people well fed and to trade for exotic goods from across the seas and lands of the East. They say," Old Thomas said in a stage whisper, "that the walls of her palace were inlaid with gold and precious gems and that her people ate fruit that were like spice explosions in the mouth, such delicacies that had never before been tasted, nor since. They say that all the people in the land wore silks from Persian traders and such wealth has never been equalled since." Old Thomas took a drink from his flagon before he continued. "The rogue was astonished at the tales and vowed to help the sorcerer for all the sorcerer wanted was the Queen's magic, and that wouldn't help the rogue at all. Little did the rogue know that with the combined magic of both the Queen and the evil sorcerer, the sorcerer would be too powerful for the rogue to resist anything that might be done to him. On the blackest night of the year, during the witching hour, the rogue and the sorcerer broke into the Queen's palace and before anyone knew what was happening... BOOM!" Old Thomas shouted, clapping his hands together in one great sound making the children jump back and scream. "They imprisoned her!" he said. _

"_No!" Merlin couldn't help but say, feeling deeply for the Queen. Will was so caught up in the story as well that he didn't tease Merlin for his emotion one little bit. _

"_They did a most evil deed," Old Thomas said, his voice becoming more and more dramatic, the light of the bonfire flames flickering over his face. "Yes indeed, the sorcerer was powerful enough, with the rogue's help, to place her into a deep sleep- the deepest of slumbers that she couldn't wake up from. You see, the sorcerer had to borrow the lifeforce of a willing volunteer to make his magic more powerful. All that remained of the Queen was what he allowed her- the smallest flicker of life where she could only appear to the sorcerer in his dreams to beg for his help and to set her free. But her freedom would come at a cost- to be free, she had to give up everything, her power, her magic, and her great wealth to the sorcerer and the villainous rogue. She refused, knowing that if she did that, her people would be at the mercy of two very evil men, so she let herself wander, never to return to her body again." Old Thomas stopped again to take a drink of ale before he carried on. "The sorcerer was furious and he wanted to punish her, so he took her body and buried it- still alive, but without her soul- in the catacombs of the dead kings, but he surrounded the tomb with so many spells and charms that no one would go near it- he made it so that the place felt so wrong, that no one would ever want to be there and they'd all run away. The tunnels were deep, and the chambers were sealed up with magic. The rogue found out that he was never to get his riches, so he challenged the sorcerer. The had a duel to the death! And in the final blows, they each landed a fatal move, each killing the other stone dead!" The children cheered as the villains of the story had their comeuppance. _

"_But what about the lady?" the young child from before asked. _

_Old Thomas shook his head, "So many people avoided the tomb, that in time, people forgot where it was. Magic is forbidden now, so there are no magic people left who can find the sealed entrance. But sometimes, or so they say, when you sleep, the good Golden Queen comes to you in your dreams just to make sure that she isn't forgotten... and _sometimes_," Old Thomas said, his voice getting lower and lower, "Sometimes, people say that the Queen is still out there, waiting for someone to come and rescue her, and in return for their help, she will give them her riches and her wisdom and she will bless them with a look from her beautiful face which legend says was more wonderful than all the riches of the land." _

_Old Thomas sat back, his story finished and gloried in the radiant look on the children's faces, each of them wondering if they would dream of the Golden Queen that night. _

_All of them looked towards the bonfire as they were all called away to have some food, followed by singing and dancing, and Old Thomas, helped by one of his granddaughters, got up for his share of pork before all the best parts were gone. _

Merlin finished his story, smiling widely- that particular night he'd been thinking about was still vivid in his mind even after all these years. His mother's hair was so black and shining back then, and it had danced with the colours from the firelight. The pork had tasted so good- he still remembered the saltiness and the juiciness, and the crispness of the crackling. He remembered how he, Will, and some of the other village children had played well into the night and far past their usual bedtimes. And most of all, he remembered how contented everyone was.

He sighed in happiness for the memory.

Arthur sleepily looked at him, but at the expression on Merlin's face, he didn't tease him. Arthur let a fond smile play about his lips and he stayed silent. Harvest was always an important time in any land, and he remembered his own harvest festivals, although they were larger, more grand affairs, but they were always happy memories. He turned over to sleep, noting that Gwaine was already nodding off. He heard Merlin shifting down under his blanket and he heard Leon do the same. He lifted his head to check on Elyan who merely nodded at him, already keeping a lookout into the night.


	7. Chapter 7

**Gold**

**Chapter Seven**

Next morning, nearing midday, the five men rode on horseback out of the forest and out on to a large clearing with ruins where once a great building had stood.

Merlin had been allowed to sleep by the Queen again, but she was still there, and this time, unlike his other dreams of her, he had seen images this time of a rock face with a tree struggling to grow out of a crack where a seed had long ago been dropped by a bird, and he heard the words of the Old |Religion flowing so gently through his mind.

They were standing in the sunlight, but the ruins were in the shade of a vast cliff forming the side of a mountain which would have offered protection on two sides of the ruins, so enormous were the mountains.

The ruins themselves were of a yellowish stone, standing in vast contract against the grey of the mountains. What stood was covered in mosses and creeping plants with little purple flowers on that filled all of the crevices and niches. If the ruins were anything to go by, then the building that had stood here would have been about the same size as the city of Camelot with one grand entrance, and it's passages and rooms inside were both maze-like and numerous. The ruins weren't entirely at ground level- there were pillars and archways, walls and roads and towers. Anything that might have been a roof was mostly missing, but generally speaking, it was large enough to get lost in with many dark corners.

_And no doubt dungeons,_ Arthur thought to himself, thinking of all the such places in which his knights could get lost in. Although if he had to be honest with himself, he could trust his knights to look after himself. It was Merlin he was more worried about.

"Is this the place?" Elyan asked.

"I... think so," Arthur said, looking around hesitantly.

"Well let's have a look, shall we?" Gwaine said, nudging his horse ahead to go closer and examine the surroundings. Leon went to the left, and Elyan took the right.

"Don't wander too far," Arthur cautioned them, "we don't know who else might be here."

Naturally, Merlin stayed at Arthur's side as went forwards, through the ruined archway of what might have been the main entrance at one point. Arthur dismounted from Sigral with Merlin following suit. Merlin took Sigral and Peronell and tied them to a nearby tree which was growing through the base of a tumbledown wall and then jogged back to his master.

Arthur was brushing his hand against the stone, marvelling at the artistry hidden underneath nature's reclamation. He looked up at the pillar he was next to and pointed to it, knowing that Merlin was looking. "Look at the carving on this stone," he said quietly. Merlin looked, and despite the weathering from being exposed to the elements, it was still a beautiful spiral woven from base to the top, several metres above their heads. The more they went inside the ruins, the more they realised that every single piece of stone had been loved by the master stonemason who had done the work here- everything was unique in it's design, and everything _had_ a design. No piece of stone, no matter how inconsequential, had been left out. And that was the same throughout the entire city, as Arthur thought of it now. Even what he would have considered the living area for the peasants and the servants was constructed in adoration for the aesthetic.

Arthur suddenly whirled, his hand instantly going for his sword which was still in it's sheath. He relaxed when he saw that it was Elyan, also having dismounted, and was now walking through a corridor somewhere to Arthur's right. He lost sight of him as Elyan continued walking through the dim corridor and past a wall that hid him from Arthur's sight.

Remembering that they were here because of grave-robbers, Arthur unsheathed Excalibur anyway and cautiously walked through the ruins, going deeper and deeper into the gloom with Merlin in tow. The city really was enormous, and though they went through corridors and rooms galore, Arthur was sure that they had barely touched the surface of this place.

The two of them came to a courtyard that had clearly once been a private garden, but before they entered into it, they heard voices, and these weren't the gentle tones of Leon, the respectful tone of Elyan, or the brash but joking voice of Gwaine. These were definitely strangers, and course-sounding men at that.

Arthur ducked behind the archway that led into the courtyard, shoving Merlin less than gently into the wall behind him.

He knew his knights were close by as he'd seen them from time-to-time in the few hours that they'd been roaming the city ruins. He saw Leon ahead of him on a doorway mirroring his on the other side of the courtyard. He gestured subtly to get his attention, and it worked. Leon acknowledged his King. Arthur made a series of gestures which Leon clearly understood but even after all these years was still gobbledegook to Merlin. Leon turned to someone that Arthur couldn't see and repeated the gestures, so Arthur knew at least one other knight was there too.

"What's going on?" Gwaine's voice in Arthur's ear behind him nearly made him jump a mile. It certainly made him whirl silently and grab the front of Gwaine's armour before he realised who it was. Arthur gave him a look that would have killed, if looks could, before he let Gwaine go and filled him in quickly and silently. Gwaine nodded his understanding and moved to another doorway to Arthur's right to try and outflank the men in the courtyard.

Arthur risked a quick look out and saw that there were six or seven men, all about his size, although there was one that could certainly have given Percival a run for his money. As Arthur listened to their talk, he was sure though, that this giant, unlike Percival, had no brains as well as brawn. Just brawn, as Arthur looked him up and down, trying to size him up. He was closest to where Gwaine now was hidden. He hoped that the knight with the sometimes underhand tactics could take down a man of that size.

The knights were waiting for Arthur's go-ahead before they moved, and Arthur took that moment to listen to what the men were saying. He wanted to make _absolute_ sure that they were about to attack grave-robbers, as opposed to some normal people minding their own business but setting up a camp for the night perhaps.

"So where is this 'ere grave then?" One of them said, which pretty much cleared it up for Arthur.

"Dunno," another said, "but this 'ere garden is right in the middle of the place, and this is a well." he gestured to a fountain with a well around it in the middle of the garden that they were standing next to. It still flowed water which meant that either the reservoir was vast indeed and was topped up with water from the mountains naturally, or it was a natural spring underground.

"So?" the first man said again, clearly not quite as up-to-speed as the man he spoke to.

"_So_, water doesn't just appear- it 'as to come from somewhere. And this ain't no river. It's a well in the middle of a dry garden. T'ain't no other way to feed it than from underground, and it's gotta come from down there," he pointed to the floor. "Ya gotta be able to keep an eye on a city's water supply, so there oughtta be a way to get down there and check on it."

The first man's shoulders slouched. "Oh come on Ulric- we've been lookin' for a week now and we ain't found no door nowhere. 'Ow are we gonna get down there?" he complained.

Ulric, who seemed to be the leader of the band, smacked the complaining man around the head, but not gently. "We ain't gonna find it, and it won't matter if we did- it's got magic on it and all, so we can't get in there. We are just gonna have ta bust our way in. That's why Rulf's with us," he looked at the giant of a man who was busy examining something he'd just picked from his nose. "I didn't bring 'im along for 'is witty conversation. Give 'im a sledgehammer and 'e can bash 'is way through anything- including a fountain," he said. "Where is it?" he asked the other man whose name hadn't yet been revealed.

"Where's what?" the man asked.

"The sledgehammer!" Ulric demanded, hitting the man around the head again, causing bruising this time.

"Sorry boss," the man said, cringing away from Ulric. "It's over there-" he gestured towards Arthur's corner of the garden where Arthur now realised were several sacks of equipment and provisions for several men on a journey. Arthur braced as the man jogged over to the sacks and picked up the sledgehammer. He really didn't want that giant to have anymore weapons than he already had with his fists.

He crouched down low, ready to spring, and just as the man got to the sacks, Arthur jumped out with a yell, grabbing him from behind. Leon and Elyan from the other side of the courtyard went for Ulric and the other men, leaving Gwaine with Rulf the giant.

The man that Arthur had a hold of flopped in his arms, leaving Arthur briefly perplexed, but as the man didn't seem to be trying to attack other by some underhand method, Arthur didn't run him through. "Merlin!" he ordered, not bothering to look around. Sure enough, Merlin was there in barely a second.

"Sire?"

"Bind this man- there are ropes there," Arthur said, gesturing to the sacks they were next to, and then he left Merlin to deal with it, running off to help the others.

Merlin could hear the clashes of swords and the shouts of combined war cries and pain of blows. He could also hear Rulf bellowing in a deep rumbling voice.

"What's your name?" Merlin asked the man holding his hands high until his hands were tied behind him.

The man looked a little confused at the question, but he answered readily enough. "Phipp," he said, falling silent and looking behind Merlin at the battle. Merlin himself was distracted by it as well, keeping an eye on Arthur as he bound the Phipp's feet.

He bounded over to the battle where Ulric had been mortally wounded by Leon and Gwaine and Arthur combined were wrestling with Rulf. Gwaine had lost his sword to the strong backhand of the giant, and so he'd jumped on to Rulf's back when he'd been distracted by Arthur and proceeded to bite his ear, grimacing at the vile taste in his mouth as he did so. Rulf's great hands went wild, trying to slap Gwaine off his back and pounding at the knight with bone-crunching blows. He couldn't quite reach well enough to really damage Gwaine, but Merlin could see that there would be need for arnica later on to combat the bruising. Arthur was too busy with Rulf to notice the thief coming at him brandishing an axe from behind.

"ARTHUR!" Merlin yelled out at him, and then muttered a quick spell beneath him breath to make the thief trip over a flagstone. Arthur heard the trip and turned away from Rulf as a thief came at him from behind. Elyan, seeing the danger that Arthur was in from Rulf, now behind the King, lunged forwards and shallowly stabbed Rulf in his side. The giant of a man screamed in pain and flung wide his arms, catching Elyan directly in the chest, flinging him against a solid stone wall, his body sliding to rest at the bottom of the wall, and his eyes sliding shut.

Having dealt with the thief, Arthur turned back to Rulf in time to see Elyan being thrown as if he were a rag doll and he also saw that Rulf's chest was wide open from the move. Gwaine took that moment to poke his fingers into the giant's eyes, so Arthur took the opportunity to deal a fatal blow by stabbing Rulf straight through the heart. Gwaine jumped and rolled off the giant as he fell on to his back, stone dead.

Merlin had by this point run over to Elyan.

"Elyan- Elyan, can you hear me?!"

He skidded to a stop next to him and knelt down, his hands immediately out to probe the back of the man's head. Merlin was relieved to hear Elyan groan in pain.

There was a small amount of blood. Merlin stole a quick look back at the battle to check on Arthur, and seeing that it was dying down now that Ulric and Rulf had been dealt with, he turned back to Elyan and cleaned his head wound which wasn't too bad. Merlin retrieved some bandages from inside his bag which he kept with him and bound the wound. He prised open Elyan's eyelids to check on him.

"How is he?" Arthur said from behind, coming up to him.

Merlin looked around. Leon and Gwaine were tying up the last of the thieves who were still alive. "He has a concussion, but I think he'll be fine." Merlin looked at his work- Elyan's eyes were already fluttering open. "He should see Gauis when we get back," he said.

Arthur clapped him on the shoulder making Merlin's lips crease into an appreciative smile. Arthur might tease him mercilessly, but when it mattered- _really mattered_- Arthur was there, being the King Merlin had always known he would be. _And friend_, Merlin added to himself.

Arthur went to speak to Leon, their voices low, and Gwaine jogged over to Merlin to help him with Elyan.

"How's he doing, Merlin mate"?

"He'll be fine," Merlin told him. "Could you help me stand him up please?"

Gwaine leaned forwards towards Elyan, who had woken up and was blinking furiously. Gwaine put his hand on Elyan's shoulder to provide support. "You alright there?" he asked him.

"Fine," Elyan whispered, his forehead creasing as he felt the pounding of a nasty headache coming upon him. "Help me up," he told them.

They each grabbed him under an arm and pulled him to his feet, steadying him as he stood. He was a little dizzy, but, with a little help from his friends, he was able to walk over to where Arthur and Leon were speaking. They caught the tail-end of the conversation.

"Sire!" Leon protested in a whisper, not wanting the thieves to hear. "We can't leave you here by yourselves!"

Arthur's lips twitched in amusement. "I won't be alone- Merlin will be here with me."

Leon looked at Merlin, his eyes kindly, but doubtful.

"Don't worry Leon," Arthur said, pushing him gently towards his Hafaleil. "You have all the bandits, and you definitely need the three of you to keep them in line. Take them back to Camelot for the dungeons. They will stand trial for the grief, thefts, and vandalism they have caused."

Leon had to concede to that. The giant might be gone, but there were still enough men for three pairs of eyes- and three swords- to be needed. "And once you're back, make sure Elyan gets to see Gauis straightaway."

"Yes Sire," Leon said, obeying his King.

"We'll catch you up once we've checked through the ruins," Arthur reassured his chief knight.

The three thieves that were left- Phipp included- had their hands tied behind them and their feet left free so they could walk, and they were then tied to each other by a short length of rope. Leon pulled them from the front, and Gwaine and Elyan stayed behind the train to keep an eye on any stunt the men might pull. They took the sacks the thieves had with them, and all too soon, the sound of the voices and footsteps disappeared.

Arthur turned to look at the devastation left by the battle and with a frown, he turned away from it. "What are we doing?" Merlin asked him.

"We are going to make sure this sort of thing never happens again," Arthur told him, looking around.

"What does that mean?" Merlin looked at him quizzically and not a little suspiciously.

"It means, _Mer_lin, that we are going to find this tomb. Those thieves had far too much knowledge and were far too sure of themselves for it to be merely a coincidence."

Merlin thought back to his last dream with the images of the rockface and looked around, trying to think of a way to direct Arthur towards a rockface without raising the King's suspicions.

Arthur was busy looking around the fountain in the middle of the courtyard garden that the thieves had been so interested in earlier. The depths of the well gave nothing away, but he did dip his cupped hand into the water to take a sip. It was beautifully clear and cool and it refreshed Arthur wonderfully in the warm day.

"Didn't everyone say that the tomb would be located in a rockface or something like that?" He said, still looking around.

Arthur rolled his eyes, not even trying to keep the exasperation out of his voice. "Yes, Merlin, but they also said 'ruins'." He threw his arms out to the side and turned in a slow circle to prove his point to Merlin, his eyes glaring at his manservant. Merlin merely gave him an unimpressed look back.

"Obviously, we're in ruins Arthur," he said, not in any way sounding respectful towards his King. "But there are vast ruins, but only a few actual rockfaces. Maybe we should start at those so we can rule them out at least."

Arthur's hands clapped down to his sides and he huffed, not wanting to admit that maybe- just maybe- Merlin had a point.

Merlin was of course helped by the Queen, who was getting stronger and stronger in his mind to the extent that he was sure he could now see her in broad daylight. As he looked at Arthur, he could see a ghostly figure of a woman standing in an archway beckoning him towards her.

"Let's go this way!" Merlin said happily, starting to walk in that direction and leaving Arthur with very little choice but to follow him.

Arthur caught up to Merlin and yanked him around by the shoulder. "I think you'll find," he said, annunciating each word with biting accuracy, "that it's the servant who follows the king, not the other way around Merlin."

Merlin grinned at him. "Whatever you say Arthur,"

Arthur huffed again, but went in the direction that Merlin had started off in anyway. He kept Excalibur unsheathed, but it was a fairly loose hold, seeing as they had dealt with the thieves and Phipp had said that there weren't any others around. Of course, he still had his sword out because there was only so far you could take the word of a thief who had been caught.

It took them another long while to get through the rest of the ruins to the mountainside rockface and the sun was starting to get low in the sky, the pink and orange hue making a stunning glow all around.

They hunted around for a while along the rocks, Merlin running his hand along, knowing that the stone doorway would be unnaturally smooth.

As it was starting to get dark, Arthur was about to turn to Merlin to tell him to set up camp for the night when he heard a shout from his manservant.

Holding his sword firmly again, he ran to Merlin who was now standing in front of a large black doorway into the mountainside, partially covered by a struggling tree growing out of the crevices on the rocks.

Arthur stood stock still, looking gobsmacked for a second until he gathered his senses and walked over to Merlin looking at him incredulously. "How did you do that?" he demanded of the warlock.

"Do what?" Merlin said, eyes wide. "I didn't do anything. The magic must have just degraded over the years- does magic even degrade over time?" Merlin asked, gabbling away.

"Merlin," Arthur said with a certain tone that made Merlin immediately shut up. "Shut up," he said anyway, making sure that Merlin understood.

Once again, Merlin was glad that he could distract his friend from magic just by letting his mouth run away with him. Naturally, he'd used the words that the Queen had said to him in his dreams.

"I was just talking to myself and it opened up." Merlin said finally.

Arthur laughed. "I'll bet you _were_ talking to yourself- you talk incessantly!"

Hefting his sword in his hand, he took a few careful steps forwards through the opening in the rock. "Stay behind me, and keep your eyes open," he told Merlin, gesturing with his spare hand where Merlin should stay.

Merlin stayed quiet, but wide-mouthed as he followed Arthur into the darkness.


	8. Chapter 8

**Gold**

**Chapter Eight**

The doorway in the mountainside was dark.

Very dark.

Pitch black.

The dying daylight from the rock opening afforded them only so much light and after a few steps, it was already dark. Arthur was about to turn to Merlin to get him to run back and find them a branch to make a torch from when, with a slight rumble felt only beneath their feet, the blackness suddenly became much more intense. Merlin turned with Arthur to the doorway and shouted as they both realised that the doorway had shut behind them leaving them with no light whatsoever.

Arthur pushed past Merlin, thanking that the floor was smooth rock and there was nothing to trip up on in the darkness, until he got to the rock. It was perfectly smooth and flat again and most definitely closed.

"What are we going to do?" Arthur heard Merlin ask him from a few steps behind him.

Arthur turned back and returned to where he had been. "We carry on. We're here for a reason." _Let's hope there aren't any surprises up ahead_, he thought to himself, hoping mostly that there weren't any rocks or holes in the ground. He stopped suddenly, as that last thought occurred to him. He instantly felt Merlin walk straight into his back, making him stumble forwards. "Watch it _Mer_lin!" he chastised the man, although lightly as they were essentially blind.

"Sorry Arthur," he said. "I can't see where I'm going," Merlin told him unnecessarily.

"Obviously." Merlin couldn't see Arthur rolling his eyes, but he knew by the tone of voice that it was happening.

"I was going to say," Arthur continued, "that you should hold on to me- we don't want to lose each other in the dark."

Merlin was silent a second. "Hold on to you, Arthur?"

"Yes Merlin, the concept shouldn't be that hard for even you," Arthur said.

Merlin moved his hand forward, reaching for Arthur's hand, where he thought it would be. Luckily, he was right and he found it. As he grasped the other man's fingers though, they were suddenly whisked away.

"What on _Earth_ do you think you're _doing_?" The question was filled with incredulity.

"I'm holding on to you Arthur, like you said."

"I meant my shoulder, idiot!"

"Ohhhh," Merlin answered, suddenly understanding.

"You're going to have to work very hard to stop me from telling people that you tried to hold my hand," Arthur said, and Merlin could hear the amusement in his voice.

"I'm not going to live it down, am I?" Merlin realised.

"Noooooo," Arthur said, drawing the syllable out. "It's too good."

Merlin sighed, a very deep sigh, just to make sure Arthur heard it and then put his hand on Arthur's shoulder.

Arthur started walking again, holding one arm out so that his fingers brushed against the wall so he could feel what the path was doing, Merlin following behind and a little to his side. The path had started to slope downwards, but it still seemed to be clear for them.

After a few more steps, there seemed to be a little more light.

"Is it getting lighter in here?" Merlin asked Arthur.

There was a silence for a moment. "I think it might be." Arthur moved so that his face was closer to the walls of the tunnel. "Lichen on the walls- it's providing a small amount of light," he told Merlin.

It was a very soft light, barely able to shed light on to anything, but the absence of the oppressing blackness from before certainly comforted them a little. They were both men of the outdoors, and the underground blackness was weighing heavily on their souls.

"Shouldn't this be a catacomb?" Arthur said, partially thinking to himself. "Where is the light, or at least, where are the torches? People would have had to come down here at some point."

Merlin thought about this a moment. "Maybe they used magic, as it was allowed. Maybe they didn't need conventional light," he offered.

Arthur was about to agree with him when the wall he'd been following took them sharply around several bends and corners and then opened out into a slightly larger tunnel, but this tunnel dazzled their eyes with light. Both men felt the need to blink.

The tunnel had turned to gold. Everything was gold- the floor was of golden slabs, and the walls and curved arched ceiling a little above their heads was made of rounded gold pebbles, intricately placed into a porcelain-coloured mortar. The sight was astonishing, yet neither of them could see where the light source was coming from. It simply _was_- from all around them.

They cautiously moved down the tunnel until it expanded out into a room of yet more shining gold.

"This is a sacred place Arthur," Merlin whispered.

"I know," Arthur said whispering back. Even the magicless King felt the need to whisper and they both felt awestruck. The walls were clearly carved with loving care and inlaid in what looked like gold filigree. The work was extraordinary. As they walked down the room, there wasn't a bit of wall, ceiling, or floor that hadn't had some artistry devoted to it. The new pathway opened up into a small circular chamber just as decorated, but with a small trickle of crystal-clear water falling from a downwards spring in the centre of the domed ceiling and into a round font no higher than Arthur's knee and was filled with the same crystal-clear water made the more obvious for the shining gold at the bottom of the pool.

Arthur looked up, and then back down at the pool. "I wonder if this is underneath the fountain well in the garden courtyard," he pondered. "We've gone through enough twists and turns and the slope went downwards enough that it could be..." he trailed off, pondering it. Ulric and his thieves had certainly thought so.

They wandered around the circular room which, other than the artistry and the pool, seemed to be entirely empty. Merlin checked everywhere though- he had a strange feeling coming upon him. The Queen was nowhere to be seen to give him any hint of what they should be doing, but his unease was growing, and it wasn't because of her. "I have a bad feeling about this," he said quietly.

"Merlin, you _always_ have a bad feeling," Arthur said to him, but without much conviction. Even he had to admit that Merlin's 'feelings' usually hit the mark.

On the other side of the room, Merlin caught his foot slightly on one of the flagstones, but didn't fall. He glanced over at Arthur to check if he'd seen his clumsiness once again and was floored by the expression on Arthur's face. He looked shocked and somewhat unbelieving.

"Merlin," Arthur said, before Merlin could ask him if he was alright. "Who is that?" Merlin turned to face him properly, and then turned further to look behind him at what Arthur was staring at. A smoky black spectre of a man was contemplating them with a vicious glare and a sadistic twist on his lips that showed no humour whatsoever. "I don't think that _this_ magic has degraded Merlin," Arthur whispered, still looking towards the apparition.

"This place is MINE!" The spectre screamed at them, the voice changing unnaturally between a rumbling bass and a high pitch, the mouth hanging open as if the jaw had suddenly become unhinged. It did nothing but stay where it was, but both Arthur and Merlin were flung back against the walls and the spectre was suddenly between them, cutting one off from the other. Arthur got up quickly, sword strong in his hand, slashing uselessly against the curling black smoke. Now the spectre laughed cruelly, but the smoke got a darker black and it was harder for Arthur and Merlin to see each other through him. Merlin got up, a little shakily, but ran towards Arthur. The spectre turned to him and flung out black bolts of smoke towards him at the speed of an arrow, and they hit Merlin straight in the chest.

Merlin stopped exactly where he was and fell to his knees, a gasp dying on his lips. Black smoke curled around him and he felt as if he were being suffocated from the inside out. He coughed, and a few wisps of smoke came out of his mouth and nostrils. He fell back, eyes no longer seeing what was around him, and he was struggling for breath. He could vaguely hear Arthur shouting his name, and then he heard Arthur no longer, but only the spectre coming closer laughing. "This place is _mine_!" The high pitched warble was the last thing Merlin heard before he fell unconscious.


	9. Chapter 9

**Gold**

**Chapter Nine**

"Merlin!" Arthur saw Merlin stop suddenly and he paused in his slashing of the spectre. It wasn't having an effect anyway. Then he saw Merlin fall to his knees, a surprised look on his face, and then a pained expression crossed it and stayed there. "MERLIN!" Arthur yelled this time, realising that the spectre was paying attention solely to his manservant and that it must have done something to him. "MERLIN!" he yelled again, but he had no reaction from either Merlin, nor the spectre. Arthur ran around the spectre, taking care to avoid the curling black smoke, to run to his friend, but then the spectre _did_ see him suddenly and paid attention. Arthur was flung back again, and although he immediately got back to his feet, he realised that there was nothing _beneath_ his feet. _A trapdoor!_ Arthur realised, flinging out his hands to his sides to try and catch a hold of the floor around the hole that had appeared, but he didn't have enough time to grab purchase on to something, and he fell to the darkness below.

"Merlin!" he shouted as he fell, his voice heard by no one.


	10. Chapter 10

**Gold**

**Chapter Ten**

"Merlin," a voice whispered to him. "Merlin, wake up."

"Mmmmmmnrrrrerrrr..." was all he could manage. He felt as if he'd been choking and his throat was raw and full of gunk. Even if he hadn't been feeling like several horses had stampeded on his chest, it would have been hard for him to speak. All he could really tell at that moment was that he was lying on his back and that it wasn't comfortable.

His eyes flickered.

"Merlin, you must wake up," the voice told him.

He tried to open his eyes, but it was very hard. He listened instead to the voice, hoping that it would help him."

"Merlin, I can't help you, you must wake up first," he was told.

_Sounds like a nice voice_, his growing consciousness told him. _A woman, I think_.

After a few more attempts, he opened his eyes to a dim blur. His eyes were streaming. He blinked, trying to clear his eyes.

"Mmmmy..." he started, but stopped as he coughed violently, and he rolled to his side. The rolling caused him pain and dizziness, but these helped him come to his senses a bit quicker. "My... head..." he whispered hoarsely, bringing his hand up to his head.

"You fell through a trapdoor," the voice- woman- told him. You hit your head when you landed. Luckily, you didn't fall far at all so your wounds from your fall shouldn't be severe. You should be more worried about the smoke inside you," she said. "There are many traps here, be on your guard."

Merlin stopped coughing and returned to lying on his back. He looked up, a torch was burning somewhere on a wall sconce, and he could see the woman from his dreams standing before him looking down at him with such an expression of kindness on her face. Queen Alianor looked like a ghost, all grey with only the barest hint of colour about her.

"You're the Golden Queen," Merlin said, his words punctuated by nasty-sounding coughing.

She laughed, the sound falling around him like medicine, making him feel better just at the loveliness of it.

"I have heard that name- it was around even when Arosslegne was at the height of it's rule." She came closer to him and became serious. "Merlin, you must get up and find Arthur. The sorcerer's magic has cursed you and you need help before..." she trailed off, her meaning clear.

Merlin choked again on the gunk building up in the back of his throat, more black smoke falling out of his mouth and nose. "It's like poison," he said, half to himself, half to her.

She nodded, "it is good for you to see it like that- then you know what you're up against. It's not just smoke."

Merlin rolled over on to his front, slowly, and with difficulty. He rested on his front, finding it hard to take a full breath. "Where is Arthur?" he asked, rasping.

"He fell through another trapdoor," Alianor told him. He fell further, but had a better landing than you. Now, get up!"

Merlin dragged his arms up, and put his hands either side of his shoulders to push himself up on to all fours, his head hanging, and then he fell to the side so that his back rested against the wall. His breath was coming in shorter and shorter breaths. He tried to spit out the gunk from his throat, but nothing came. His tongue felt too dry, like sandpaper. He pushed against the wall, and slid upwards, using his feet and hands to push himself up. He was eventually standing, but leaning against the wall like a drunkard. He had to keep stopped after every movement to try and take enough breaths to get a full lungfull of air inside him. It wasn't easy, and the sound of his breathing started to wheeze. His head lolled, but he pushed it back with all the effort he could muster so that he could look at the Queen, his head leaning against the stone behind him. He could feel beads of sweat dripping down his face and neck.

Queen Alianor came closer. If she'd not been a ghost, her skirts would have brushed against his legs, and if he weren't so distracted by consciously having to make sure he could breathe, Merlin would have been blushing. He knew she was there, right in front of him- he could see her- but the lack of any sensation from having someone that close played with his mind a little, but she was definitely there.

"You must move, Merlin," she said. "You can't stay here."

She leaned forwards and kissed him. His mind went blank. He could feel nothing of her, she was well and truly a ghost, and yet, he could feel the surprising warmth of her lips on his own. If anything, he would have expected a deathly cold stealing through his body, but no, her lips were definitely warm and they filled him with a warmth too. He didn't respond to the kiss, but when she pulled away, he felt like it was a little easier to breathe than it had been before the kiss.

"Move, Merlin," she said, not unkindly.

He nodded, and followed her down the tunnel of the catacomb still moving like a drunkard, but moving far more easily than he had before.

-oOo-

The fall had been terrifying, Arthur had to admit to himself, but he was eternally grateful to whomever it was that was watching over him. He had fallen into an underground lake it seemed- probably the spring that was the source of the water for the city. Even with the minimal amount of armour he had on it had been a hard swim, but he'd managed it. He'd clearly landed well into the water- it could have been nasty, falling from that height and speed into a lake, but it might have been that the armour itself had saved him from any major injury. He was lying by the lake on the stone floor, trying to catch his breath and still the errant beating of his heart which was hammering away in his chest from the adrenaline.

He got it down to feeling only slightly out of breath before he got up, the injured Merlin fresh in his mind.

He looked around, realising now that he could see even this far underground- there were lit torches in wall sconces, the flames casting an orange flickering glow all around him, but he couldn't see that hideous spectre that had been in the circular room above. Arthur looked upwards, trying to judge how far he had fallen, but the ceiling of the cave was too far upwards and too far in the shadows to be seen. It had certainly felt like a long fall.

His hand automatically went to his sword at his side, but it wasn't there. He remembered that he'd had it in his hand as he fell, but he must have let go of it at some point as he certainly didn't have it now.

Behind him, in the water, there was suddenly a 'ting' of metal against stone and he whirled around to look. There it was, just sitting innocuously at the edge of the lake- his sword. His Excalibur. He bent down and snatched it up to see. It was definitely his sword. He looked around. There was apparently no one there to help him, and Merlin wasn't there to retrieve his sword for him like he had so many times before in training and in battle. And yet, here it was sitting right there as if it had felt his need. He frowned at the sword, but he wasn't going to question his good fortune- _Yet_, he thought to himself. With another look around to check he was alone, he moved away from the lake to find a way out and a way to get back to Merlin.

-oOo-

Merlin felt like he had the worst hangover on top of a bout of flu and goodness knew what else besides. He was starting to stagger again, his vision going a little grey at the edges, and the effects of the Queen's kiss from earlier were starting to wear off. He took a few more steps forwards to follow Alianor, but he fell to his knees, his hands grazing against the floor as he almost doubled up from a coughing fit. Alianor was suddenly by his side.

"Merlin, you _must_ move!" she urged him, "there are traps everywhere, even here!"

"I... can't!" He gasped out, but he pushed himself up, using the wall as leverage.

He took a few more steps when something moved past him like a gust of wind which ruffled at his hair, and his left arm suddenly felt numb. He looked down, and in the torchlight, it looked as if his shoulder was glowing. It dimmed to the light of embers in a fire, and then Merlin collapsed unconscious.


	11. Chapter 11

**Gold**

**Chapter Eleven**

Deep in the cavern of the spring, Arthur, Excalibur firm in his hand, walked cautiously around the tunnels. He wanted desperately to run to find Merlin, but he was aware that he'd fallen through a trapdoor and he definitely didn't want that to happen to him again. He was on the lookout for the hideous spectre of a man as well. The tunnels that he travelled down were far less ornate than he had seen so far, but the stone was still well-carved from the rock and was very smooth and the sconces on the wall were actually carved out of the rock and while simple, they were elegantly done. Arthur noticed all of this as he searched high and low for any obvious traps.

As he walked, he felt his right foot press down on something that felt like a little pebble. He moved his foot and looked down, bending to see what it was. A small sound, like someone sighing gently, and a 'thwack' on the opposite wall caught his attention and he looked up from where he was crouching. An arrow with a green phosphorescence had shot out of the wall that he'd been next to at chest height and had hit the wall opposite instead of him. Arthur's eyes opened wide, and still crouched, he ran as fast as he could in that position around the next corner straight through a localised cloud of grey smoke. Arthur stopped just after he'd run through it and brought his left hand up to his nose to protect him from whatever noxious fumes he'd just run through when the smoke called his name.

"Arthur," a woman's voice called him. He whirled to look at it- no, _her_, he realised. A pale outline of grey showed him a woman with flowing hair and a long court dress with a crown. He dropped his hand to his side.

"You're Queen Alianor?" he asked, though without the intonation of a question in his voice.

He saw the ghost of a smile on her face even though he could barely see her.

"Yes," she said.

"You're a ghost," he said bluntly.

"I am an essence of a spirit," she corrected him. "I never died. I was..." she thought about it for a moment, "... exiled."

"By the sorcerer and the rogue?" Arthur asked.

"Yes," she said. "I am gratified that my legend has survived all this time."

"You are aware of time then?" He asked her.

She merely smiled, not answering his question. "We have only so much time Arthur, Merlin needs your help, and I can't answer all of your questions before you've helped him."

Arthur's eyes widened. "What do I have to do? Take me to him," he ordered her, his princely tone coming out, but without any arrogance.

Alianor turned and started to glide down the tunnels. Arthur followed her without question around tunnels, up steps and down slopes, the artistry of the tunnels and catacombs was becoming more and more brilliant.

After several quick turns and corners, Arthur came to a small chamber with several tunnels going off from it and he thought he'd lost her. "Alianor!" he shouted, his voice echoing cruelly back to him. "Alianor! Where are you!?"

She appeared then, much to Arthur's relief from one of the central tunnel entrances.

"Quickly Arthur!" she motioned to him. She was still only a vague ghostlike image to him, but he could hear her voice clearly and he followed. She led him through a great room filled with gold and treasure.

As they entered the room, Arthur stopped in his tracks, his jaw dropping open at the insane amount of wealth in this room alone. The further the Queen went into the room, the torches on the wall nearest to her lit up showing Arthur more of the treasure within. This was clearly what the treasure hunters over the centuries had been after but had never found. The room fairly glowed with the golden walls alone and the vaulted ceilings with great buttresses and pillars holding it up. Gold was everywhere in all forms- cups and chalices, plates and cutlery, suits of armour and coin. There were jewels in mounds and wooden furniture in the most exotic styles clearly from other ancient lands around the world. Bolts of silk and never-before-seen materials were protected with see-through materials, but many were displayed on the walls with beautiful embroidery and paintings on them and there were shelves upon shelves of scrolls and ancient manuscripts. And that was only what Arthur could see at that particular moment from his small viewpoint at the entrance. It was more than a sight to behold- it was a once-in-a-lifetime sight, and he was transfixed, his mind having gone blank.

"Arthur!" The Queen was ahead of him, but he soon came to his senses and caught up with her as she'd stopped by a plinth containing a few objects within a glass box. Clearly they were by far more important than everything else in the room, though they didn't look any grander. _Although it must be near impossible to get any more grand than what is already here_, Arthur thought to himself.

"That goblet in the middle," the Queen said.

"What of it?" Arthur asked, looking at it. He reached in and took it out, hefting it in his hand. It didn't look to be made of gold, but it was exquisite in it's construction with delicate filigree all around the outside of it. It had been well-loved too, as it was worn in places.

"It is a cup that can heal a person who is mortally wounded," she told him. Arthur dropped it as if it had burned him and instinctively took a step back, his lip curling downwards.

"I've heard of these cups- these cups of life- they require _balance_," Arthur spat the word out. He knew of the bargain that had to be made with these. "What do I need this for anyway?" He left it lying where it was, so innocuous on the dusty ground.

He unconsciously wiped his hand on his breastplate, feeling tainted by touching the goblet.

"This is not a cup of that crudity," the Queen assured him. "This grail gives life without taking it. It required no balance, it seeks only to right a wrong- a life that should never have been taken."

"Whose life has been taken?" Arthur asked, and then his breath suddenly got stuck in his throat. "Merlin," he whispered out. "What's happened to him?!" he roared. "He had only been wounded by smoke when he fell- I saw it!"

"The traps are magical and they are all lethal," the Queen pointed out, calmly, but sadly. "Merlin is hanging on to life, but only barely. He needs the restorative magic that only this goblet can bring. You must fill it from the spring which flows through Arosslegne like life blood, and get him to drink it."

At her words, Arthur shot down and snatched up the goblet, and ran after the Queen who had seen his heart and his intentions and had already set off in the right direction for him to follow.

Something Arthur had noticed as he'd gone through the catacombs was that the water supply was channelled all throughout, even down the most nondescript tunnel, there was always a water channel in the floor. Alianor wasn't wrong when she described it as Arosslegne's life blood. And then it occurred to him that he was indeed standing within that ancient and mythical city and that it was as real as he was. If he hadn't been so hell-bent on finding Merlin, he would have felt in awe of where he was. He wondered just for a moment when it had become known just as Rosslyn.

_But that's not important_, he reminded himself as he followed the Queen. She had tipped him off several times when there was a trap ahead of him and he'd done exactly as she'd told him to do, although a few of them had just required him running for his life which after all these years, he was getting good at. As was Merlin. Usually. "Hold on Merlin," he whispered as he ran, "I'm coming," and he ran faster, following the spirit up ahead.

They came to another small chamber that split up into several tunnels. "This place really is a maze," he commented as they ran down the furthermost left tunnel.

He thought he heard a small laugh from the Queen. "With treasure like you've seen, are you really amazed at it?"

He saw her point of view.

They were down a dim tunnel of just plain stone again, the torches few and far between, but just enough to shed light ahead of Arthur. Suddenly, the dim grey ghost in front of him disappeared. Arthur was about to yell out for Alianor when he saw a lump on the ground. He ran towards it and dropped.

"Merlin!" Arthur's heart fell as he saw who it was.

Merlin was on his front, head tilted awkwardly to his side and he was unconscious. Arthur put the goblet on the floor and grabbed Merlin by the shoulders, rolling him over and bracing his head which felt feverishly hot against Arthur's knee. Arthur realised that Merlin's left shoulder was burning hotter than his head was. He moved his hand and saw that the shoulder was glowing dimly like a fire about to go out. He put his face close to Merlin's to check his breathing. It was there, but only just, and even in the dim light, with his face that close to Merlin's, Arthur could see the wisps of smoke coming from his mouth.

Arthur leaned over to grab the cup and then found the small channel of water where floor met wall and filled it with a few mouthfuls of water. He brought the goblet to Merlin's lips and managed to get some inside him, though a lot of it fell down his face in rivulets instead. Arthur stroked Merlin's throat, trying to encourage him to swallow the water and he saw that that at least had worked. Merlin swallowed a few drops.

And then Arthur waited, putting the goblet back on the floor and stroked Merlin's hair, trying to comfort the younger man while he waited.

And waited.

"Come one Merlin," he begged his friend quietly.

In the darkness, Arthur wasn't sure how long he waited, but it seemed too long. He went to pick up the goblet again- maybe he hadn't given Merlin enough water. Maybe the Queen had been wrong.

"Arthur?" the whisper was quiet- far too quiet for his intolerably loud manservant, but it was enough to make Arthur smile.

"I'm here," he said, the ache he'd felt when he'd seen Merlin there on the floor made it too difficult just then to say anything else.

"My throat feels disgusting," Merlin whispered.

Arthur retrieved the goblet and leant over to the water channel again and filled the cup. He brought it up to Merlin's lips and tilted it to try and get more in Merlin's mouth this time, and less on his face.

"Thanks," he whispered.

Arthur and Merlin stayed where they were until Arthur could hear Merlin's breathing getting closer to normal. "Think you can sit up now?" Arthur asked him, "only your fat head is making my leg go to sleep."

Merlin laughed, although it came out more as a dry wheezing. "If anyone is getting fat around here, it's you, your Royal Pratness," he retorted as he, with Arthur's help, managed to sit leaning against the wall. Arthur sat next to him, also leaning against the wall.

"I'm not fat!" Arthur said, giving Merlin the refilled goblet so that he could have another drink.

Merlin's mouth was too dry to make another comeback, so he had no choice but to take the water from Arthur and merely raise an eyebrow instead which actually had more of an effect on Arthur than a comment might have done. "I'm not!" he protested.

Merlin refilled the goblet and had another drink. His throat felt like it was on fire and like it would never be back to normal again. But the fact that he was alive and with Arthur was enough for him just then. Merlin looked down at his shoulder. Any trace of the glow had disappeared, and the burning had gone, as had the gunk in his throat and the feeling of suffocation. It was bliss. He looked around at the tunnel. "How did you find me?" he asked.

Arthur looked a little uncomfortable, realising what he was about to say and how it might make him look. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Um... Queen Alianor. I saw her ghost," he admitted. "Well, spirit," he corrected himself.

Merlin smiled. "Me too," he said. Arthur immediately looked relieved.

"You did?" he asked.

"Yes," Merlin said. "She was showing me where to go when I... collapsed."

"Wait a minute," Arthur said, frowning. "How did you get down here?"

"Another trapdoor apparently, or so Queen Alianor told me." He had another drink. "She said you had a good landing from your trapdoor experience."

Arthur snorted. "I fell into a lake," he said flatly, unimpressed. His wet hair was still dripping down his neck. Then he shrugged, "but given how far I fell, it was just as well. The Queen appeared to me after I set a trap off and showed me how to get to you."

Merlin sat up straight, alarmed. "You set a trap off? Are you alright?" He peered at Arthur who rolled his eyes.

"Yes Merlin, I'm fine- she's been showing me where they all are and how to dodge them."

They sat there for a moment longer. "Can you get up now?" Arthur asked him, not wanting to push his friend, but also not wanting to sit there any longer. They'd taken up quite enough time with not doing anything.

Merlin thought for a second and then nodded. He braced himself against the wall and stood up, feeling much better than he had done last time he'd tried doing that. The room had stopped spinning too. Arthur was at his side then, looking at him, clearly checking up on him, concern in his eyes.

"I'm fine Arthur," Merlin reassured him.

The Queen appeared then.

"Come, both of you, the sorcerer's guardian spirit is approaching!" And with that announcement, she set off at speed back the way Arthur had come, the two men following her.

"Who is this man?" Arthur asked, slightly out of breath as they ran.

"He is one of the magical guardians that the sorcerer left behind to deter anyone who might come here, along with all of the traps, magical and otherwise which you've already come across," she told them.

"And where are you taking us now?"

"To my prison," she said. "I need your help." They ran through the chamber with the many tunnels leading off it into one that Arthur hadn't been into before, and she was gaining speed. Arthur ran with Merlin to make sure that he was still able to breathe and keep up. He seemed to be doing fine and Arthur spared a moment's glance at the goblet in Merlin's hand. "I have been imprisoned in the ether for centuries," Alianor told them, her voice just about reaching them from where she was ahead, "unable to return to my body and unable to wander even around these catacombs. When a ruthless band of thieves started to look for the wealth of Arosslegne, they started to set off the curses that had been put in place here so long ago and they woke me up, as it were, just as I was supposed to- I was supposed to be able to tell the sorcerer who did this to me what was happening so that he could stop them as he wanted everything for himself. In ghostly form, I was also apparently another one of his traps to scare people away. But this was a long time ago," her voice sounded tired now, even though the speed at which they were running was having no effect on her. "The thieves disturbed the magic and the curses as they were getting perilously close to the catacombs and so I sought out a brilliant magical mind to help me."

"I'm sorry that there aren't many of those left," Arthur lamented for her, a guilt flowing through his soul.

She stopped then, suddenly. If she'd been a real person with a body, both Merlin and Arthur would have run into her back, but they managed to stop quickly anyway. She turned to them and pointed to the end of the tunnel. This tunnel had many small flagstones on the floor.

"You must be careful where you step here," she told them. "Many of these small flagstones are sensitive to pressure and if you step on them, you'll join the dead kings down here in Avalon. You should go one at a time so that I can guide you individually through the maze."

"I'll go first," Merlin said without hesitation.

"Merlin, no!" Arthur protested, but before he could stop him, Merlin had taken a step forwards and the Queen was helping him. Arthur didn't dare take a step further, just in case he stepped on something and endangered Merlin. Instead, he contented himself with throwing insults at his manservant's back. "_Mer_lin, you're such an _idiot_!" he threw his arms up in the air. "What sort of _fool_ does that?" he dropped his arms with a slap back to his sides. "To deliberately go against the order of your King! I should put you in the stocks for this!"

"Arthur!" Merlin's distracted voice echoed at him from a few steps away that he'd taken. "I'm trying to concentrate!"

Arthur snorted and then huffed, going to fold his arms sulkily, and then remembering that he still held Excalibur. He wasn't really annoyed, just concerned for his friend who had only recently recovered from his bout with death.

Arthur anxiously watched Merlin's progress until he got to the end and the chamber that was beyond. The Queen had clearly told Merlin that he was safe from there on in as Merlin turned and smiled at Arthur as he took a step into the chamber.

A massive stone slab suddenly fell from the ceiling where Merlin had stood a moment before and descended into the doorway cutting Arthur off from Merlin and Merlin from him.

"Merlin!" Arthur yelled. "MERLIN!"


	12. Chapter 12

**Gold**

**Chapter Twelve**

"ARTHUR!" Merlin yelled, his fists pounding on the stone slab now in the way between him and the man he'd sworn to protect. "ARTHUR!"

"He is alright, so long as we don't waste time," Alianor told Merlin. "I'm afraid I knew that it was going to fall, but I wanted us to be alone for a moment so that you could do your magic." Merlin stopped pounding the wall and turned to look at her, confusion written all over his face.

"You know about my magic?" he asked her.

"Of course I do- didn't you hear me tell Arthur that I sought out a brilliant magical mind to help me?"

Merlin blinked, his mouth resting open.

"That was me in your dreams. I've been calling to you." She was standing in the centre of the room which was entirely decorated by gold and blue mosaic. Next to her was a marble stone grave marker and on top of it was... _something_... with a beautiful grey silk cloth over it. Alianor looked at it. "This is me," she said simply. She looked back at Merlin. "I've needed your help, so I came to you in your dreams. I want to be either alive or dead, but not stuck in the middle between the veil. It is worse than hell- it is nothingness. I desperately need your help." Merlin saw her eyes, filled with years of pain and loneliness which somehow she hadn't gone insane from. Merlin wasn't sure that he would have been able to stand it if he'd been in that position instead of her. _She must be incredibly strong in soul as well as in mind_, he thought.

"Is that why in my dreams, you sounded so desperate?" he asked.

She nodded, looking down at the silk covering.

Merlin still stood in the same place by the stone slab. "What do I have to do?" He had always wanted to help her- the sadness of her voice in his dreams had filled him with such a _need_ to help her.

She looked at him then. "You are Emrys, the most powerful warlock to ever have existed. You need to reunite my mind with my body. I need to be one again."

Slowly, Merlin came over to the grave plinth. He didn't want to move the covering, but he knew he probably would have to. He was a creature of life and happiness, which Arthur had more than once complained about first thing in the morning. Merlin had a soul that craved sunshine and open fields with flowers and the blue sky. Death felt utterly foreign to him and his soul rebelled a little, making him fearful even though the Queen technically wasn't dead and she was standing right next to him.

She smiled warmly at him. "You won't find a skeleton under there," she reassured him, knowing what he was thinking.

He didn't say anything- he just swallowed and raised his hand to pull back the grey silk, taking care not to touch the body underneath.

She was right.

The body underneath the silk covering was that of a woman in her prime of life. She looked as if she were asleep. Her skin was milky white and full of youth, although she could have been ageless. The long black eyelashes still had their golden tips and were gently resting on the cheeks which had the ghost of a red hue about them. The wavy golden hair fanned out around and beneath her and a golden crown with red jewels rested on her head. Her red dress with gold embroidery wasn't even moth-eaten but was as rich and colourful as if it had been made yesterday. Merlin gasped both at the possibility of it, and at her beauty. He dropped the silk so that the top that he'd pulled back was resting on her bodice and he looked back at the ghost next to him. "I'm not sure how to do this," he admitted to her.

"Please Merlin," she said, "please try." She glanced up quickly at the slab in the doorway. "And please try and be quick- he's coming!" Merlin didn't need to ask who she meant- the fear in her voice wasn't referring to Arthur, still probably stuck at the end of the flagstone flooring with one too many traps in it to risk him venturing any further. "Once you've revived me, all the traps and curses will disappear so Arthur will be safe. The power of the sorcerer will be destroyed."

Merlin nodded and let his eyes droop. He raised his hand to the body of the Queen and began to speak.

"Feorhgener!"

Nothing happened.

"Quickly, Merlin!" Alianor whispered.

"Edhwierft þes æt ealdorgesceaft!"

The torches started to flicker in their sconces.

"Merlin!" Her whispering was getting quieter, although from fear or because she didn't want to disturb his concentration, he didn't know, and he didn't have time to think about it.

He gathered all of his power from within him, feeling it pool and swirl warmly inside and then he put everything that was in his being into his next words, yelling them out.

"**EDHWIERFT!"**

The torches all at once suddenly dimmed and then shot up as one great flames into the air, blasting the room with radiance. Merlin had to shield his eyes from the light. A stone sounded like it was cracking into two and he could hear a man screaming a hideous high pitched scream that even from inside the tomb, hurt Merlin's ears. Then his ears popped painfully as the air pressure changed in the room and there was a great gust of wind that ruffled his clothes and his hair and nearly pushed him over to the ground helplessly.

The everything suddenly went still and silent.

Merlin looked up. The ghost of the Queen was nowhere to be seen. Merlin remembered the man's scream and ran to the doorway- the stone slab had broken and crumbled where it was now leaving the doorway free.

He could see Arthur who had fallen over on to the traps in the floor, but nothing had happened. Arthur was fine, if his movement was anything to go by. Merlin rushed forward to help him, remembering what the Queen had said, that the traps would disappear.

"That scream!" Arthur said loudly. He stuck his finger in his ear and wiggled it. "It's made my ears ring!"

"It wasn't you then?" Merlin asked, looking Arthur all over to make sure he was fine.

"Merlin, I do _not_ scream like a girl," he said, chastising him gently. He looked at the slab. "What happened?" he asked.

Merlin helped Arthur up. "I'm not sure, but the traps are gone. So is the Queen," and he pulled Arthur along to the tomb.

Merlin went through the doorway first and returned to where he had been at the side of the grave.

Arthur didn't spare a moment to look at the room and came to the other side of the marble and looked down at the woman Merlin was staring at.

"She's beautiful," Arthur whispered.

Merlin nodded dumbly.

They both stared at her with baited breath.

She opened her eyes of green and her eyes locked first with Arthur's, and then with Merlin's. She smiled.

They both smiled back at her. She looked back at Arthur. "My riches... her voice was so quiet that they could barely hear her. They both leaned in closer to her. "They are wasted here Arthur. Use them to help your people."

"I will," Arthur promised, nodding.

She returned her gaze to Merlin, her head barely moving, just her eyes.

Her smile grew larger for him.

"Thank you," she said, her voice even more gentle.

She closed her eyes, and with the smile still on her face, she stopped breathing.

"Alianor?" Arthur asked loudly. He didn't want to touch her, she looked so fragile. He looked at Merlin. He had a tear falling down his cheek which he didn't bother to wipe away. Arthur didn't say anything. He looked back at the Golden Queen and realised that she was disintegrating. He gasped a little at what he saw.

"Time is catching up with her," Merlin said. "But she is at rest."

Neither of them wanted to see that incredible beauty turn to dust. Merlin took the grey silk covering and pulled it back up over her head where it had been before.

"How did it happen?" Arthur asked him. "How did she return to her body?"

Merlin paused for a moment before he answered. "I suppose she just needed to be back here. Maybe she couldn't get here alone. She was stuck between worlds. She said she only appeared when people were here, so she probably needed someone to be with her so that she could return to her body."

Arthur nodded, accepting.

They left the tomb to return to their horses outside and to Camelot.


	13. Chapter 13

**Gold**

**Chapter Thirteen**

They had been in the catacombs all night and the dawn was just beginning to break as they found their way outside.

They rode hard to return to Camelot, both of them wanting to return to their loved ones and the comforts of home and a nice warm bed and hot food.

In their saddle bags, they had some of the wealth of Arosslegne, including the strange goblet that had saved Merlin's life. Arthur told Merlin about it on the ride home and Merlin had suggested that it get locked away rather than destroyed as so many magical items had been during the Great Purge. They carried with them gold and jewels, but also some of the manuscripts for Gauis and Geoffrey to look at and study.

-oOo-

They returned to Camelot and they had both been right in guessing the reactions of the two learnèd scholars when Geoffrey and Gauis saw the scrolls. They cooed over them like a new mother with her first-born. Merlin and Arthur both laughed at them and were shooed away so that the men could analyse the manuscripts in peace. Arthur was only too happy to oblige. Instead, he organised with his knights several missions to return to Arosslegne to catalogue and bring back to Camelot all of the riches of the Queen Alianor which Arthur told them was absolutely real, and was no myth at all.

The knights who went there on the missions came home with such stories to tell that no one would have believed them- not even their own families- had it not been for the proof they had with the jewels and golden artefacts and exquisite furniture and materials that were brought home.

Arthur, with Merlin at his side, oversaw that everything was done as it should be, and with the help and advice of Merlin, Gwen, Gauis, and the people he trusted most, Arthur made sure that the people of Camelot profited from the new-found wealth in the way that Queen Alianor would have approved of.

When this was done, Arthur and Merlin returned to Arosslegne to make sure that it was sealed up properly, especially her own tomb. The torches had long gone out and the catacombs and tunnels were harmless, all of the trapdoors now closed up and all of the secret tunnels had opened up. It had been these which the two young men had been particularly pleased about when they'd appeared as they hadn't been sure how to get out of the catacombs when they'd got into them by trapdoor.

-oOo-

A few nights later, in the very deepest archives and secret treasure rooms of Camelot, Arthur and Merlin were to be found one night hidden away from prying eyes.

Arthur hefted the goblet in his hands one more time before he put it in the small chest which he then put inside an alcove in the wall. He shut the door in front of it and locked it, putting the key on to his keyring on his belt and then allowed the curtain in front of the door to fall back into place, hiding it from view.

Her turned to Merlin. "Do you think this is the right thing to do?"

Merlin nodded with absolute assurance. "It's a cup that brings life with no life taken away. It is unique and should be treated with reverence, not thrown away or feared."

Arthur looked up at the hanging, worry slightly on his face. "If our enemies were to get a hold of it, then they could in essence have an immortal army," he said.

"We've already fought the Knights of Medhir," Merlin said, cracking a smile. "And we defeated them."

Arthur's frown stayed put. "I wish we could have spoken to her- the knowledge she must have had... I could have debated with her for years I'm sure about magic and politics." He stopped talking and stared at the hanging, playing with the keys on his belt. Merlin was looking at him intently, mouth open as if he were going to say something. He closed it again though as if changing his mind. Then he opened it again.

"It'll be safe here," Merlin assured him, seeing his concern. "We are the only two people who know where it is, and it will stay that way."

Arthur looked at him then. He clapped a hand to Merlin's shoulder and turned them both away to leave the room.

"You're right," he said. "Let's just forget about it. It's locked away, and this... _grail_... will never see the light of day again." They left the room and Arthur locked it behind him. He took a deep breath, as if by locking everything away, he had put the whole episode to rest and he felt relieved. "Come on Merlin, I need my dinner and a bath, in that order."

"Yes," Merlin said, not comprehending. "I could do with that too."

Arthur's eyebrows rose to his hairline. "Now," he said, smiling.

"Oh," Merlin said, suddenly realising. He laughed, and Arthur hit him over the head and then he laughed too.

They both slept well that night, free of dreams.


End file.
